


The Lady the Epilogue

by Violsva



Category: Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Disguise, Gen, Multi, Watson's Woes July Writing Prompts 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-10 09:46:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4387100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violsva/pseuds/Violsva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Holmes and Watson receive an invitation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lady the Epilogue

**Author's Note:**

> For Watson's Woes July Writing [Prompt #20](http://watsons-woes.livejournal.com/1381176.html).

Holmes frowned across our sitting room at the young American who sprawled across the basket chair. “The opera?” he asked. “Why?”

“It will come to you eventually,” the man drawled, fingers steepled in an obvious imitation of Holmes’ pose when he had entered. He was well dressed, clean-shaven and red-haired, and his mouth seemed stuck in a permanent mocking smile.

Holmes glanced at me, then back to our visitor. He was not so young, actually, now that I looked at him closely. Something about him put my back up. He was attractive, and confident, and the way he looked at Holmes was half mocking and half something else. I wasn’t sure that I had a reason to be annoyed, except that he was so obviously trying to be annoying.

“Goddammit,” Holmes swore suddenly. “Will your husband be accompanying us, Mrs. Norton?”

Irene Norton smiled as I jumped and stared at her. Even knowing who she was, I could not see it. “He will,” she said. “We’re quite enjoying being in London again. But I think we were wrong to interpret Dr. Watson’s story literally.” Her pitch only raised slightly. The accent might be her natural one, I supposed.

“Quite so,” said Holmes. “I was absent when it was published, you understand.” He was blushing; I didn’t want to guess why.

“He was very admiring of your intellect, nothing more,” I told Mrs. Norton. “All the stories have been edited for various reasons.”

“I realized that, Doctor. But I was curious.” She stood. “I’ll tell Godfrey you said yes, then. _Barber of Seville_ , Friday night.”

The door closed behind her. I turned to Holmes. “Was she here for any other reason than to amuse herself?”

“I don’t believe so,” he said, but he looked far more cheerful than he had half an hour previously. “If you object to a night at the opera, it’s your own fault for publishing that story.”

“And your fault for not being around to stop me,” I said, but I smiled at him afterwards, and he tried not to look relieved at the reminder that I had forgiven him for his absence.


End file.
